Andre Ethier got the start over Matt Kemp in center field for last night’s game against the Phillies. It could signal the end of Kemp’s days as a regular center fielder.

Coming off ankle surgery, Kemp’s range has been noticeably diminished this season. There were a number of examples of this during the team’s recent series against the Mets. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said after Thursday’s game that Kemp “doesn’t look the same” and lacks the “burst” that he used to have.

According to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Mattingly talked privately with Kemp on Friday to discuss the situation. It’s unclear how the playing time will shake out in the Dodgers’ outfield, but Mattingly told reporters that “we need to get better there” and that they are “looking at all options.”

As for Kemp, he acknowledged that his defense needs to improve and that his ankle has been a factor:

“Do I feel the same? Man, I just need to play better defense,” Kemp said. “Ain’t no ‘burst’ or anything like that.

“I wish I was explosive as I could be in the past. I have good days and bad days. Some days my ankle is looser than other days. Some days it’s a little stiff. I’m not hurt or anything. But you have those good days and bad days. That’s true for any baseball player.

“Shoot – I wish I could go out there and steal 100 million bases like I used to. But like I said some days my legs – I don’t feel it as far as being loose. But the more I play, the more it gets better and better. I’m happy about that.”

Per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Kemp is out of the lineup again today, with Ethier getting another start in center field.

Kemp is owed ~$122M through 2019 when he’ll be 35 (including ~$15M for the rest of 2014). While his 2014 OPS+ is 119, the Dodgers would probably have to sell quite low on him due his history of injuries and even if healthy, with his current level of production, most teams would not value him as a $21M/season player.

The Dodgers will probably keep playing musical chairs with their OFers this season in hopes Kemp stays healthy and regains trade value. Right now I think they’d need to kick in at least $45M of the $122M owed to him.

Although, I’m not sure it’s worthwhile for them to see if Kemp can rebuild value. Under the assumption they’d need to eat $45M right now, let’s say he plays 140 games with an OPS+ of 119. They will have paid him the remaining $15M from this season, and he will be owed $107M for remainder of contract. I would think they’d still need to kick in at least $22M to make it a 5/$85M commitment to the acquiring team. In this scenario, they will have paid $37M, only saving $8M vs. trading him now [this is ignoring his 2014 production vs. Either/Peterson/Crawford in the lineup].

However, if he suffers another injury, he’d potentially be untradeable, or at the very least, making the Dodgers eat considerably more than $45M to trade him.

For a team like the Dodgers with deep pockets, I don’t see the $8M upside being worth it vs. the risk if he goes bust.

The ankle and knees are the body’s weakest link.
Healing of those parts and putting full force on them takes time.
Doctors just put the parts together and aren’t experts on using them.
If you’ve never been in MLB level ball, then it’s hard to speak on healing injuries.

Kemp hasn’t been a good defensive CF since long before his ankle surgery. Now instead of below average, he’s horrible. He’s also about to turn 30 yrs old. He’ll probably have some solid years as a hitter. But the player he was in 2011 is probably long gone. Age and injuries catch up to everyone.

It’s only natural to be weary of the ankle after his injury. It just happens.
Once he can trust his healed ankle to perform as normal, he will play as he normally does.
Professional level performance requires 100%.
Many who’ve never played organized sports and only watch and write about it, cannot understand how mush strain the ankles and knees get.
Most writers are those who only write and watch and have never played.